From the moment it passed his lips in 2011, former Barclays’ CEO Bob Diamond probably regretted saying that the time for apologies in banking needed to be over. His predecessor, it seems, is faring little better at judging the mood.

Barclays is preparing to scale back its investment banking arm and cut costs in a bid to boost returns, according to reports, with chief executive Antony Jenkins set to report back to investors on a new plan for the unit by summer. The news was first reported by the FT last night.

It follows a tough year for the bank's markets business and investor disquiet over Barclays' decision to increase its bonus pool in 2013 when profits fell – a step widely perceived to be a sign that the bank had its head in the sand when it came to pay and performance.

Not so, said Barclays: it simply had no choice.

In an interview with The Daily Telegraph earlier this month, Jenkins had his own Diamond-esque moment, declaring that without paying its people competitively Barclays would find itself in "something of a death spiral”.

Much of the increased bonus pool found its way to investment bankers in the US, with Barclays revealing in its annual remuneration report that more than 270 US employees received over £1 million last year, more than double the number of those in the UK.

The decision to disclose this geographical breakdown was in part aimed at providing more detail on the extent of the challenge Barclays faced in retaining top staff; the bank also revealed that the global resignation rate for senior staff in 2013 was "significantly above" that in 2012, with a near doubling of resignations of senior staff in the US.

What effect the bank thought Jenkins' "death spiral" comments and these disclosures would have is unclear. However, just as Diamond misread the likely reaction to his comments about remorse and apology to parliament that the period of remorse and apology "needs to be over" – 18 months later he was forced out amid the Libor scandal – Jenkins comments could been have chosen better.

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The result: a chief executive so enthusiastic about bringing cultural change to the bank after the tenure of his predecessor, who is now facing questions over his credibility with investors and analysts.

Jenkins' appointment was supposed to represent a new beginning at Barclays. Thus far it looks as though, balanced scorecard and notepads branded with buzzwords aside, less has changed in the investment bank than many would like.